The viola organista and its mechanism
Metalpoint studies of a bowed keyboard instrument with its wheel-and-crank drive
Faint metalpoint and ink drawings, identified by the e-Leo caption as a 'viola organista' with constructive details, work out the mechanism of a bowed keyboard instrument. A keyed rack with a row of pins is drawn at the upper left, while a separate detail sets out a wheel or disc mounted on a stand and a crank-and-linkage that would turn it against the strings. No transcribed text accompanies the sketches.
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Keyed rack and bowing wheel of the viola organista
The caption names the drawings a 'viola organista', a keyboard instrument sounded by a turning wheel that bows the strings. A keyed rack with a row of pins is shown at the upper left and the wheel-on-stand at the centre.
Crank-and-linkage drive on an upright
A separate constructive detail at the right shows a crank and jointed linkage carried on a tall upright, part of the drive that would spin the bowing wheel.
